(Bloomberg) -- Fossil fuels are no longer considered “green” by China’s central bank.

The People’s Bank of China plans to remove “clean utilization of fossil fuel” projects from the list of programs that can be funded by green bonds, according to a draft plan released Friday.

The bank has drawn the ire of environmentalists for allowing the sustainable financing tools to fund projects that burn coal but use enhanced technologies to reduce air pollution.

The new catalog of green bond-supported projects, which also adds categories for trade and consumer finance, will meet the “international relevant standards” and “enhance China’s international voice in the field of green bonds,” according to the central bank. It replaces the list approved in 2015 that allowed clean fossil fuel projects.

“If these changes are reflected in the final policy, then China has mended a big rift between Chinese and international standards here,” said Liu Junyan, a Beijing-based senior climate and energy campaigner with Greenpeace East Asia. “This new initiative allocates money to the right projects and will have a huge impact in the global fight against climate change.”

China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gas and mines and consumes about half of the world’s coal. Although it’s investing in renewable and nuclear energy to reduce coal’s share in the energy mix, consumption of the dirtiest fossil fuel remains near record levels. The country this year already approved building more new coal plants than it did in all of 2019.

“This consolidation by regulators is a hugely significant step that will be welcomed by international investors,” said Sean Kidney, chief executive officer of Climate Bonds Initiative. “Removal of fossil fuels brings closer alignment with international practices.”

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